Diamdel Auctions Remain Strong in 2Q10

RAPAPORT... Second-quarter auction sales through Diamdel's online channel remained solid, according to De Beers. The company offered 157 lots spanning goods in the -3 grainers, 3 to 8 grainers and 2 to 15-carat size ranges, with 95 percent of these lots being sold.

Neil Ventura, Diamdel's managing director, said, "Ninety-seven percent of the 295 lots we have made available at auction in the first half have sold at their first presentation and competition throughout this half year has remained most intense for rough in the plus-2-carat ranges."

Auction participation has been strong, Ventura added, with broad-based participation evident across all customer groups in all of De Beers major markets. So far, 164 companies have participated in Diamdel's auctions this year and more than two-thirds of the lots went to small- to medium-sized specialist manufacturers.

"We also witnessed more repeat participation from our registered customers than at any point since we started auctioning in January 2008 and the number of businesses registering with us continues to rise,’’ Ventura said.